Is the Bible clear?

Greek manuscript of the Bible, a page

A random exchange on Twitter, sparked by a retweet by Nassim Taleb that I happened to notice. I’m replying here because I think we should reclaim our spaces: if something is exemplary and can be used to make a point, it’s wasteful to push content to a platform that is at best of ephemeral nature, at worst is proactively controlling, censoring, influencing… Here it goes: Uhm, yes and no!   Uhm, yes and no!   Now, in this reply lies the crux of the problem. Another installation of my renown series: “Everybody’s wrong!” (But in different ways, and this is where the interesting details determine what you should really make…

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What do you think about the Bible?

Scene: Jehova Witnesses trying to convert Muslims (!) I’ve been asked to give a quick answer to the puzzling question of the title, by a friend who happened to witness a bizarre exchange between J.Witnesses and Muslims. I needed to write this down to try and prove to myself that I can be concise…   Observation #1: Evangelize/proselytize. Jehova Witnesses represent a case study in naivete. You wonder how could they possibly convert people, since they are found in jokes alongside doorbells, and they rejoice for every piece of news reporting about plagues, deaths, natural disasters and wars: they’re happy because when the world is in ruins it means Armageddon is…

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On Prayers Of The Faithful And Distractions

Painting of the martyrdom of the 7 Maccabees

At Mass   Scene: today we went to Mass in a church that we know but isn’t our parish. All went well, no complaints (oh, how grumpy we pew-critters tend to be at times!): a good priest, a beautiful church full of art. Before the beginning of the service, while we are already seated, there comes a guy in charge of organizing stuff. The following exchange ensues: -Anyone wants to read the Readings? The Prayers Of The Faithful? Moment of indecision. I’m pondering the idea of blurting out the appropriate answer for an occasion like this, one I’ve prepared some time ago. -I may read a Reading, but… -Then it’s…

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